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The Land of Identical Faces —HACCP—
}} Overview 「The Land of Identical Faces」''—''HACCP''—'' (「''同じ顔の国」 ("Onaji Kao no Kuni") —HACCP—'') is the third chapter of the third volume of ''Kino's Journey —the Beautiful World—''. Synopsis As Kino and Hermes enter a country, unbeknownst to them they're being watched from afar by a military man with binoculars. He informs his chief that an innocent traveler has entered 'that' country. The chief appears troubled and instructs his men to wait. Meanwhile at the gates of the country an examiner leads Kino through an. After she has gained entry she is lead through the streets by another person and brought to a hotel. Through all this Kino is perplexed since all the people whom she had seen in town had the same face. The next morning Kino is greeted by a man who was assigned to be her guide. She gladly accepts and the guide drives both her and Hermes throughout town to see the sights. Before this he answers the question that he knows Kino was thinking, about why everyone in the country have the same face. Every person in the country is a clone. Long ago in another country a man and woman were brilliant scientists. They came up with the method to clone and proposed this to their country but it was rejected and they were told to halt their research. The man and woman decided to leave the country and took all their equipment and research with them. They found unoccupied land in the middle of nowhere and excavated an underground river. Now with a water source they were able to produce crops and a settlement. There the man and woman produced clone babies, and thus were the 'originals' of the country. Over time and with the development of clones the country grew and prospered and has been this way for hundreds of years. The guide brings Kino and Hermes to a facility where the clones are produced and they see fetuses inside tubes of liquid. The guide explains that clones use fertilized eggs modified at the genetic level and fetuses are developed and raised in the glass tubes in lieu of the normal gestation period and once ready they are 'born'. The guide also brings the pair to an education and testing facility where they see many men and women studying and being tested. The facility teaches ethics and tests couples if they are qualified to become parents. In this country couples who wish to have children must apply to do so and also pass strict testing to be permitted to have children of their own. The country believed strongly in parents giving unconditional love to their families rather than having children for selfish reasons. During their stay Kino and Hermes is invited to dinner at the guide's home where she spends a day with his family playing with their children. After spending some time with them she found that each child just like each person have differences in their personalities. The guide also remarks that everyone is indeed different, but they could easily be wiped out by disease which was the reason for the thorough gate check, but if one is determined they will always find a way to survive. On the third day the guide and his family sees Kino and Hermes off with a smile. While the pair drive away Kino mentions that it was a good country and they ought to return someday. Suddenly on the road they are met with a soldier who urges Kino to go with them quickly to get out of danger. Kino follows and the commander says she is close to the front lines of their assault and they intend to keep her safe. The commander explains that they will soon be bombarding the country with clones as they view it as a devil's land. Long ago a group of travelers visited the country but experienced severe shock after seeing all its citizens had the same face. They returned home and were so traumatized that they were admitted to mental hospitals while one committed suicide. The commander says that in order to prevent other victims, they would demolish the country but they had no desire to involve innocents and thus waited for Kino to exit the country before beginning their bombardment. In moments the army launched bombs and missiles at the country and reduced it to rubble. When the bombardment concluded Kino is free to leave. The commander shows Kino a picture of his family with twin daughters and invites her to visit their country before parting. As Kino stands over the rubble of the country she bids farewell to seemingly nobody. Fifty days after the army left the area and the fields regrew, a door on the ground in the middle of the country's rubble opened. Out of the door walked the guide, his family as well as all the citizens from the ocuntry. They all marveled at what a thorough job the military did at leveling the land and making everything new. As people exited the bomb shelter they all agreed they'd be busy, but those with the strong will to live would surely live. Notes * In this chapter, note that the clones that live in the country aren't clones in the sense that a perfect completed human is instantly made like what's seen in a lot of fantasy and sci-fi shows. The clones are just copies of the original biological info from the origin cells and raised in its normal development cycle, so each person still starts off their life as a baby that needs to be raised and educated. Category:Chapters Category:Novels